Schrodinger's Butterfly
by redheadturkey
Summary: When Reno is captured instead of Tseng and Elena by the remnants, he suffers a head injury which leaves him comatose, causing the state of his own mind to unravel as he experiences things that make him doubt his own perceptions of reality.
1. Chapter 1

The assignment had been supposed to have been such a simple thing. Go to the crater, get Jenova's remains, climb back into the chopper, and go. Unfortunately, as the slim redhead that now lay barely conscious on a bed made out of animal furs and blankets on the floor of the crater itself had discovered, many times it was the tasks that were supposed to be the simplest to complete which were the ones that most often went wrong. The voices from outside the cavern Reno was in seemed to come to him as if from a distance, from underwater, garbled, the words not clearly discernable to the scattered and damaged mind.

"Loz and I want to KEEP him, Kadaj, and I really don't see the harm in it! He's likely not going to survive very long anyway, even if you don't kill him outright once you have what you want from the ShinRa, there's no harm at all in letting Loz and I play with him a little for the time he's still alive. " Yazoo was pacing, long silver hair draping down the slim back as the remnant of the great General Sephiroth pinned the eyes of the smallest of the three, the catslit pupils narrowing in irritation with Kadaj's decision to rob them of their ill gotten toy.

By the time Yazoo had finished speaking, there was gunfire from the top of the crater, the loud booms of a large caliber rifle, echoing off the rock walls in a way much like cannon fire, but they were mere 45 caliber rounds with the sounds enhanced by the acoustics of the place. A tattered crimson cape wound like a living thing around the intruder, matching the hellfire of the blood red eyes that showed above the clasped collar of the cloak.

Vincent wasted little time in lifting the nude and bloodied form up from the pile of blankets that had been dumped around the lithe Turk, wrapping his cape around Reno for modesty's sake and to keep the young man from freezing to death as he held the three off with the huge triple barrel for a moment, those orbs narrowed as he assessed the injuries, noting the blood on the inside of the pale thighs, the cuts and bruises all over the slim body, and the strident quality of the boy's breathing, rage beginning to boil inside of the normally even tempered gunner. It was not that he cared for the hot headed Turk, really. He didn't, any more than he did the company Reno worked for, but what these three had done was something he could not condone.

"I'm taking the Turk with me. . .and if any of you follow, or attempt to stop me, you will find that I am a much better shot than you may be prepared for." Vincent's voice was little more than a low growl, the brimstone eyes flashing to a burnished gold for a moment before returning to red as he fought back the beasts within that wanted to tear the three boys apart for their treatment of another human being. He glared at the three as he lifted the bound form up into one arm, the gun held in the gauntleted hand still trained on the three remnants as he leaped up onto the rim of the crater to go.

Kadaj growled. He was not going to lose his bargaining chip quite so easily, and there was a hissing sound as he pulled Souba free of its sheath, leaping at Vincent with a dangerous snarl on the pale lips. He hoped to be able to grab the Turk from Vincent's arms and eliminate the other in one movement, but he hadn't expected the firearms expert to be QUITE so fast. The booming sound that followed was accompanied by a SQUAWK from the shortest of the boys as one of the large slugs dug its way through the leather clad shoulder. He could do little more than grip his shoulder and watch the caped man escape with their prey. "I am going to kill that asshole when I meet him again. . . slowly and painfully."

The world had dropped away totally for Reno by the time rescue had come for him. The swelling of the brain tissue inside his skull -- caused by his head slamming into the wall that Kadaj had thrown him against when he'd attempted to escape after the torture -- had rendered him so deeply unconscious that a rise to the waking world was not even a possibility for now. Had he not been rescued he would simply have sunk even deeper into the darkness until he reached a point of no return. Instead, he was trapped inside his own mind, and that was not a friendly place at all.

The flow of images flowed behind the trembling eyelids like a broken filmreel, the ravaged consciousness unable to stop them. Sounds, smells, all of them assaulted the spirit that was buried under the dross of injury. Reno was able to hear his own screams as the memories played out before his mind's eye, the tearing sensation ripping up his spine in bright hot sparks of anguish as Kadaj laughed that insane bray of his, the one that said he was having entirely too much fun breaking the normally vibrant young man.

Horridly enough, as the coppery scent that Reno knew was his own blood filled the air, the natural masochistic streak that he had possessed since he was a teenager flaring up, causing arousal to seize him even as pain filled his body, the hot dry friction tearing up mucus membranes becoming less so as blood from the lacerations slicked the passageway that Kadaj had pushed himself into. "Where is mother? The sooner you tell us, the sooner I will let you return to your boss and coworkers. But if you don't tell me, I will kill you, and it won't be quick or easy, I promise."

The slim Turk didn't speak, even as climax raced over his nerves, much to his shame. He would not give it away, would not tell them where the remains of Jenova were, would not put not only those he cared for, but the world at large, in danger. The beatings came next, the blade taking tiny slices out of his flesh, the screams ringing off the rock walls. He had lost track of the number of blows that were landed on him after a time. Finally, even nude, he tried to escape, knowing he had a better chance of survival, even though in the freezing cold and blowing snow, than he did remaining their captive.

One of the tiny fists lashed out, knocking the Turk into the wall, Reno's head hitting the rocks with an ominous sounding crack, pain flaring through his nerves for a moment before darkness swept over him. The flashback came to its end, returning his consciousness to the darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

The wailing of sirens filled the air after the rescue, Rufus having immediately called emergency services as soon Vincent had brought the limp form back to the lodge, Rude riding with his partner as the others rode in the car behind them. The quiet between them all, the obvious worry for their comrade, was entirely to be expected considering the circumstances. Rude gripped one limp, pale hand and whispered "Hang on, partner. We're almost there. . .hang on."

The next conscious thought in Reno's mind, or the next one he thought was conscious, though in the distance he could hear the sound of soft beeps, was that he was floating, and the walls of some place that looked suspiciously like Healen seemed to almost morph into being around him, and with a moan the slender redhead sat up, rubbing the back of his head as if trying to reorient himself. "Where. . ..am I?"

The paneling had looked like that of his room at home at first, but the bed was different. . .smaller, the sheets not as soft. The door opened to admit a slender male with familiar silver hair and bright green eyes, but instead of the leather the man had worn before, he had a pair of tan slacks, a white shirt, and a lab coat, a pair of reading glasses in the pocket of the coat. The tag on the coat read "Doctor Kusinagi" but the face caused Reno to immediately scramble backward.

Rude was watching from a single sided mirror and he shook his head as his partner scrambled backward from the psychologist, as he seemed to every time the man entered the room. "You'd think they would know not to send the silver haired doctor in by now. Reno reacts badly every time they do." He was of course worried about his partner, worried that he would never mentally recover from what had happened to him, not only because it would mean he couldn't work, but also because the redhead being caged like an animal only led to him being more unstable and wild after a time, and was detrimental to any sort of healing at all.

"I had thought that time would make it better." Elena shook her head with a sigh. "but he seems to be getting worse, his mind becoming even more unstable. The doctors said he was screaming last night, lashing out at Doctor Kusinagi if he came too close. He doesn't say anything, but the man can't get anywhere near him without Sempai trying to hit him. If Reno doesn't settle down enough for them to get him through this. . ." the blond trailed off, her expression weary and worn. She fought back tears as she watched Reno lash out with a balled fist, slamming the doctor in the nose.

"I told you to stay away from me." The words came out a soft hiss, Reno's face drawn into a snarl that said he had no problem at all with killing the man in the lab coat. "You and the one you came from have done enough fucking damage to me and mine. . .you stay away from me, don't even _think_ of trying to fucking touch me." The brilliant white teeth were bared, the sharp canines giving him the appearance of an animal as he crouched there, fingers crooked in the manner of claws.

"Now, now. . .what have I done to deserve such aggression, hmm?" The doctor's back was turned to the mirror, so the others wouldn't notice the predatory expression he wore, nor the way his head tilted to one side, just as Yazoo's would do. "I can't release you into the general public if you cannot even maintain control of your emotions and your impulses for five minutes, now can I? It would be far too much of a risk. . .not only to you, but to those around you were I to do that." He held a needle in his hand, one fine silver brow quirked up into his hairline as he gestured at the two orderlies next to him, each one launching themselves at the Turk, who suddenly sprang into action.

Reno's fist buried itself into the nose of one of the orderlies, who groaned and fell to the floor, his nose obviously broken, before the other managed to get him in a headlock, the redhead HOWLING fury as his doctor slipped the needle beneath the skin of his arm, his struggles slowing, then finally stopping, as the sedative took effect.

Doctor Kusinagi peered out through the glass where he knew the two Turks were watching with a speculative expression. "And this would be why I made my recommendation to the board that he not be considered for release."


	3. Chapter 3

"He looks like Hell." The words were soft, hushed, as the big bald Turk pushed the glasses up on his forehead and rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking through the window of the private ICU ward at his partner who had a tube down his throat, hair shaved to within an inch in length in the places they'd needed to surgically repair. "The doctors are saying recovery isn't very likely, the injuries were just that severe. Shachou hasn't decided whether to have him taken off the machines, or give him a bit more time and see if he improves. He's recovered from some pretty nasty life threatening injuries before, and if anyone can recover from this, it would be Reno, he's one of the most stubborn human beings I've ever met in my life, but this just feels. . ._wrong_. . .to me."

Elena simply nodded, squeezing those honey brown eyes shut as she set a hand on Rude's back, trying to get her mind into some frame of perspective that would allow her to stay here where she knew she was needed rather than to hunt down the people who had DONE this to a man she cared about in the way one would a brother, to exact vengeance in the way a Turk would for one of their own being brutalized needlessly in this manner. "It does. . .he's normally so. .. _vital. _I keep expecting him to sit up, to tell me to stop being so weak, to say all of this was some stupid joke and offer to take us all out to the Seventh for drinks. And then it doesn't happen and I know this is all. . .real." She dashed a hand across her face, refusing to let the tears that had welled there fall.

Rude shuddered at the feel of the hand on his back, the shivering muscles showing how he was fighting his own instincts to go hunt those pieces of shit down and do to them what they had done to Reno. He knew it wasn't proper of him to even think that way, but the flame of rage flared brightly inside him in ways he was unsure of how to deal with. "I know. He would always. . .laugh in the face of danger and death, then would sail through the most insane situations with flying colors." The words were spoken with a musing laugh behind them.

"You need to stop speaking of him as if he will die." The voice was accompanied by the squeaking of wheels as Rufus steered the motorized chair into the room outside the ICU area, the Geostigma infected hand tapping the fingers on the arm of it. "If you lose hope, then so too will he. They say that even in a state that is comatose and near death that the patient can sense you still, can sense your emotions, so your wisest course of action would be to remain as strong as you possibly can."

Rude gave a sharp nod. He knew it was true, but it was a difficult thing to go through. "When will we go after the ones who hurt our own, sir? " he asked, quiet, thoughtful. He wanted to take care of them so that they would no longer be a threat to the world at large, as well as to their own people. But for him, and for the other Turks, it was personal. They looked out for their own, they protected their own, it was how they were.

"Go home, rest, and then we will make a plan for the elimination of the enemy when all of you are well rested and well fed and sharp again." Tseng gave Rude a look that spoke volumes. He himself felt a great amount of guilt that he had escaped because Reno had told he and Elena to leave, had sacrificed himself for his teammates, but he supposed that was a natural thing. "Once we have a plan, we will have our revenge, and then we will see how things go with our comrade. That is an order, however, for both of you. You included, Rude. Go home, sleep, shower, and eat, then return and we will discuss our next action."

Rude strode out hearing the people outside speaking to the reporters about the slim redheaded Turk, and found himself surrounded, but he pushed right through the crush of journalists, simply shaking his head quietly as he said "No comment. My partner's misfortune is not to be your paycheck, so please find some other story."


End file.
